(No worries! Glad to see you back!)
Something similar to relief passed over his face for a moment, before he nodded and brushed the look away. He reminded himself silently that the least Itzal could do was keep from erasing their memories. "Good. That's a start at least," He said, taking a slow breath. The others would never speak to Itzal again if erasing their memories was a possibility, and Cole wanted to make sure that didn't happen. He needed to regain their trust, or otherwise Cole feared Itzal would forever be cut off from them. Cole wouldn't be around forever to give the god company, he was only mortal after all.
"I suppose you can't go back to your home if the others are there, can you?" He asked after a long pause, "My home is…well, it's a bit wrecked…but if you need a place to stay, and you truly won't erase my memories, you could spend some time there. If you want to. "
He felt something similar to pity for Itzal, even though the god had rightfully gotten himself in the mess. Even still, to have all of the gods he loved abandon him at once, Cole knew it would probably hit him hard. The least he could do was give him a place to stay for a while.
(Sorry for the long wait again! :)
Itzal nodded mutely, still fighting against the urge to make everything right again. He knew Keyer wouldn't want them to fight. They wanted all the gods to be together and safe. That's what he'd been charged with. Keeping them safe. And he'd failed. He'd failed so dramatically he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to make it right again. Keyer was probably so disappointed in him.
"Thank you," Itzal murmured, his gaze dropping to the ground. He really didn't know what he would do without Cole. Probably just stay here until he could figure out what to do next. "I can take us there if you want." He hesitantly held out a hand, wondering if Cole would even take it. It was a long way to walk, but if it made Cole feel more comfortable, then he would walk.
Cole looked at Itzal's outstretched hand, pausing as he looked toward the god. He was offering to take them to his home, and though he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to mend all bridges with the god who would erase his memories at any time, he didn't have the energy to walk home. "Sure." He said, slowly reaching out and taking Itzal's hand. "Though I might need your help fixing things at my home, I don't really want to do it all myself."
It was a minor thing, having the god work with him to repair his home, but Cole figured it was an alright trade. Especially since so much had happened to him already, he didn't want to pile any more huge responsibilities on his shoulders.
(Many much apologies for my inconsistency with replies. I'm giving the standard finals week excuse with a dash of mental health issues for some flavor. Again, so sorry. And one last thing, thank you so much for sticking with me for 2 years! <3 :)
Itzal nodded, trying not to focus on how hesitant Cole was acting. It made sense, but at the same time, he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. It wasn't like he'd done anything to Cole. He supposed it was just the possibility of what he could do. To be honest, he was a bit scared of that one too.
"Of course, I'll help," Itzal said softly. Maybe that would help ease some of the tension between them. He closed his eyes, blocking out all the other worries. All he had to do was take Cole home, help him with home repair, and not freak out anymore. Itzal let out a breath, starry magic enfolding them for a second. When it cleared, they were standing in Cole's living room. Itzal let go of Cole's hand and stepped away from the man. He didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable than he probably already was.
(No problem! Also holy shit has it already been that long??? Thank you for sticking with me as well, I forgot just how quick time goes by lol <3 I always look forward to read whatever you have written next and I know it's always going to be the highest quality, thank you for it all :D )
Cole squeezed Itzal's hand as the magic enveloped the pair, leaving them standing in middle of the destruction when it cleared. He released the god's hand after no more than a moment, letting him step away as needed.
He glanced around at the chaos with a frown. There were shards of his stair railing scattered everywhere, with a few larger chunks dotted about. His couch was tipped over, and little remained of his coffee table, both things he assumed were because of the beings. "Shit…" He sighed, eyeing his TV, which he had been avoiding looking at. Like the rest of the room, it wasn't in good shape, with a piece of railing stuck through the screen as well as being on the floor far from it's old place on the wall. Cole knew all too well that there was probably more damage done but he didn't care to look, focused instead on the mess at hand.
"Well…maybe this is a job for tomorrow?" He finally said, looking back at Itzal with a look of something like exhaustion and acceptance of the situation.
Itzal glanced away from the rest of the house toward Cole. The man looked exhausted, which he really should be after everything that had happened. He would be concerned if Cole looked any different.
"Of course." Itzal gave Cole a small nod. Maybe he could start cleaning up while Cole rested. It probably wouldn't help make Cole trust him more, but at least he was doing something useful. "I'll keep a watch out. Just in case." Itzal started towards the couch, which looked like the easiest thing to fix. He seriously doubted the beings would come back since he was pretty sure he'd gotten rid of all of them. But the way things had been going, he wouldn't be surprised if another group of beings showed up out of the blue.
"Well…I think I have an air mattress somewhere that you can crash on, or if you'd prefer we clean this up so you can use the couch, that works too," Cole offered, stepping over a chunk of his staircase to approach the couch. At the very least it didn't look damaged. All they would have to do would be turn it upright, and probably give it and the surrounding area a good vacuum to make it at least tolerable for the night.
Faintly, he wondered if the beings were going to come back and attack him again, and Cole took a second to look around for the sword he had last time. Unsurprisingly, it was nowhere to be found. The thought of not having it to even attempt to protect himself was a little discouraging, but then again, now there was a god staying with him that could help in the odd case that they did come back.
"It's no trouble. I can use the couch," Itzal said quickly, shaking his head slightly. "And you don't need to trouble yourself over it. I can fix it up myself." He turned towards the couch. All he really had to do was flip it the right way and dust it off a bit. It would be fine. And he didn't really plan on sleeping much that night either. His plan was to make this place look as presentable as possible before Cole woke up in the morning. This plan could only kick off if Cole went to sleep, though. "You should get some sleep. I can figure something out myself." Itzal gave him a small smile, hoping that would convince him to leave and go to sleep.
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